- Speaking on Wednesday, the governor said he is not in any way opposed to the growth of the Coastal County and so is no one in Mombasa.
- He went on to say that the only thing he is against is having a private entity running the port without the knowledge of what they are going to do.
Image: HANDOUT
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir has maintained his stance on the privatisation of the Mombasa Port.
Speaking on Wednesday, the governor said he is not in any way opposed to the growth of the Coastal County and so is no one in Mombasa.
He said the only thing he is against is having a private entity running the port without the knowledge of what they are going to do.
The governor said nothing has been done to show that the port has issues that need fixing or the county is set to gain more with the privatisation.
Nassir noted that when the port was closed by the previous administration the economy of Mombasa suffered a great deal and it is still on its recovery journey.
"When you make decisions that are going to hamper, one way or the other, the question you need to ask yourself is, were we making losses as a port? no. Is there feasibility that has been done to indicate that you'll be getting more? no." Nassir said.
"I am opposed to the idea of bringing in someone without knowing what that someone is going to do. No one knows the details."
The Mombasa governor insisted that the livelihoods of the people of Mombasa are tied to the port and he will not sit tight-lipped when critical decisions affecting his people are being made.
Nassir said since the time of his father, elected leaders have been talking about the port benefiting the people of Mombasa but none put up concrete efforts to see that it came to pass.
He said that he would not go on record as the governor who kept quiet when port decisions were made.
"Not a single one of us is denying growth, not a single one of us is denying positivity. Not a single one of us is saying whatever is being brought is something we are just bashing without a reason," Nassir said.
"The port, the economy of Mombasa, and the livelihood of the people of Mombasa from transporters to everyone else. Everything is one way or another aligned to the Port."
His remarks come even after President William Ruto affirmed that the government has no intention of privatising Mombasa Port.
Ruto, however, promised that the government would work with the private sector on a concession process to increase efficiency and investment.
"Privatization of the Mombasa Port will not happen when we are in government, I said that when I assumed office, Port operations would be returned to Mombasa from Nairobi and we did that," he said.
"I want to assure you that we shall expand it to create job opportunities because it can serve South Sudan, DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda."
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir has been on an aggressive advocacy campaign opposing the Port privatization.